“I thought it was pretty cool, but I didn’t even know what it really was,” Connie Ruan said. “I thought it was just patrolling around.”

Each robot has five cameras, four of which help the robot see things. The other is used to get thermal imaging data. All of the information gathered goes to an internet-based portal that helps local security forces on the ground.

“The law enforcement apparatus is not going to scale,” Li said. “You can’t keep adding more people, and we’re going to add more people and more officers. It’s not going to happen. Society literally can’t afford this.”

The robots are able to observe people walking on the sidewalks, record license plate numbers, detect the heat in objects, and see which cellphone serial numbers are within a designated patrolling area.

Knightscope said the data is secured and is only seen by the security agency controlling the robot. They’re able to stop it and tell it what to look for, but it doesn’t have a joystick that would allow it to follow or target a specific person.

Of course, privacy concerns abound.

“In the wrong hands, people could like… reboot it or something,” said Far Rockaway resident Jose Rodriguez.

Li grew up in Queens and said the 9/11 attacks began his thinking about how to improve security across the country.

“I’m really still upset about it, so I’m dedicating our lives to improving the safety of our country,” he said.

The company said it costs between $6 and $12 an hour for a new robot to hit the streets. They’re currently deployed in 16 states to come alongside local security teams to help reduce crime.

Anita Fuentes is a full-time Christian Evangelist and Pastor. Founder and President of EMOAF Church and Open Your Eyes People broadcast she is the mother of 6 beautiful children and married to her husband for over 16 years. Evangelist Anita Fuentes loves the Lord Jesus Christ and is honored to serve Christians and those still seeking in their walk in life.